Daniel Levy Can Push Tottenham Hotspur on or Set Them Back Five Years

AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS - MAY 08: Mauricio Pochettino, Manager of Tottenham Hotspur and Chairman Daniel Levy celebrate during the UEFA Champions League Semi Final second leg match between Ajax and Tottenham Hotspur at the Johan Cruyff Arena on May 08, 2019 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. (Photo by Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)

Daniel Levy can push Tottenham Hotspur on, or he could also set the club back over five years. Talks with Mauricio Pochettino do not appear to have begun just yet and with just less than nine weeks to go before the transfer window closes, action is needed. The business that Daniel Levy has built since 2001 is solid. The team is doing well. Yet, it still feels like he might be letting the egg timer run down – a dangerous game to play.

Daniel Levy Can Push Tottenham On

Daniel Levy Has the Whole Club in His Hands

It’s been said often enough that Daniel Levy divides opinion amongst the Tottenham Hotspur faithful. The magnificent new stadium and training facilities have done plenty to dampen those voices who still question his ideas about the club. After a campaign that ended in defeat in the Champions League final, players looking dead on their feet and a Premier League campaign that, despite finishing fourth, ended with far too many defeats, just how much time can Levy afford to waste?

Success On a (Comparatively) Shoestring Budget

Shoestring may be overdoing it as Tottenham are hardly paupers, but the transfer market records don’t lie. Pochettino has less money than his rivals. Since May 2014 when he joined the North London club, he has a net spend of just £50 million.Liverpool and Manchester City in that same period have net spends of £176 million and £548 million respectively. That’s a huge chasm. In fact, during the ENIC ownership of Tottenham Hotspur, there have only been three occasions when the club have lost money in the transfer market. Great business? For who?

The ‘I’ in ENIC Means Investment

When ENIC took over at Tottenham in 2001, the club had suffered financially for some time. Sir Alan Sugar somehow kept the club afloat but Tottenham were mid-table nobodies.

Levy’s first task was to stabilise the finances. Over the first few years that was done and a League Cup win 2008 brought silverware home too. ENIC were initially at Spurs to invest, make the business profitable and then sell it.

Invest Yes, Waste No

When Gareth Bale left Spurs, Tottenham went out and bought nearly an entire team to replace him. Paulinho, Etienne Capoue et al arrived along with the likes of Erik Lamela. It was transfer business done to appease fans angry at Bale’s departure. It didn’t work out for many of the so-called ‘Beatles’ who Garth Crookes had said replaced ‘Elvis’ at White Hart Lane.

Levy Can Push Tottenham On – If He Wants To

It is time for Daniel Levy to take his plaudits for delivering a truly world class Stadium. It is also time for him to push Tottenham on to becoming regular title challengers. The aim of becoming top four regulars has been attained. A Champions League final was not expected but showed what the manager can do without resource.

Even the most stubborn chairman would need to be blind not see the obvious answers staring him in the face. Whilst no one expects Tottenham to spend on the level of Liverpool or Manchester City, now is not the time to sit proudly staring at a nice net spend. The stadium is here. The revenue will increase. Champions League again brings more money as does NFL at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The run to the final will also have generated more money than would have been projected at the start of the season.

The choice is yours, Mr Levy. Failure from him to act will simply lead to the departure of Mauricio Pochettino, one of the few on-field things that the chairman has got right in nearly 20 years. Does Levy push Tottenham forward or catapult the club back to May 2014 when the Argentinian came in and began a great journey for the club?

One thing is for sure, Levy isn’t afraid to upset the apple cart. If he does it this time, all his hard work for the club off the field will quickly be forgotten and those that are on the anti side of the Levy fence will once more be heard, loud and clear.

I am a Spurs fan of over 30 years and have written match reviews and articles intermittently over the past 5 years.
I’m a passionate walker and wildlife lover, enjoy walking, astronomy, video gaming, reading, photography and writing including poetry and short stories.
I live with my partner, Ellen and Staffie Buddy in the Amber Valley of Derbyshire.